Westlake Loses 13-Point Lead to Ventura, Then the Game, 21-13

Westlake High’s Thursday trip to Ventura was a homecoming of sorts for Rob Mandel.

The Westlake fullback played defensive end for Ventura last season before his family packed up and moved South.

The trip was also a rude awakening for the Warriors, who went into the game surprisingly undefeated and ranked No. 10 in the Southern Section Coastal Conference poll.

After leading, 13-0, in the third quarter, Westlake was besieged by mistakes and lost its last nonleague game, 21-13, on Mandel’s old stomping grounds.

“It was just another nonleague game,” said Mandel, as he outran a reporter off the field after the game. “Nothing special about this game. Just another nonleague game.”

Leading, 10-0, at halftime, Westlake went out in the third and drove the ball to the Ventura eight. On third and four, Mandel lost a yard on a run and Garret Messner came on and kicked a 26-yard field goal.

Ventura took the kickoff to its 27 and ran off three plays, one for a first down, before Cougar quarterback Troy Fortin ran 44 yards to the Westlake five. Fortin then snuck for three yards, and on the next play gave to John Brown who dove the final three for Ventura’s first touchdown.

For Westlake, which had won its first two games, including a 13-10 upset of highly regarded Lompoc, the ensuing kickoff may have seemed like a brutal nightmare--like Cinderella getting stomped on the dance floor.

Vic Topper, who until the third quarter against Ventura had played exceptionally in 10 periods, fumbled the reception and Ventura had the ball again, this time on the Warriors’ 27.

Fortin completed an 14-yard pass to tight end Rob Turner, ran nine yards to the Westlake four and then rolled right on the next play into the end zone. In two minutes, Westlake went from a 13-point lead to a 14-13 deficit.

“The turnovers were a big key,” Westlake Coach George Contreras said. “When they scored their second touchdown, after the fumble on the kickoff, that made it difficult for us. That takes something out of you.”

Westlake quarterback Chris Lemieux, who completed only one pass last week, connected on eight of 17 passes for 139 yards. But he also threw two interceptions in the second half, killing two potential scoring drives by the Westlake offense, which had little trouble moving against Ventura in the first half.

“I think we had a better game offensively than we did last week,” Contreras said. “But we had to come back and everybody on the field knew we were going to pass--everybody in the stadium knew we were going to pass. It’s tough when you know they won’t go for the play fake.

“But I’m encouraged by the way we played. I’m disappointed that we lost but it was just a nonleague game.”

Messner can take solace knowing that he was responsible for the first 10 points in the inaugural Westlake-Ventura game. Westlake’s possession ended with Messner catching a 23-yard touchdown pass from Lemieux.

In the second quarter, Messner missed a 21-yard field goal, but with less than a minute remaining in the half, he connected from 21 yards to give Westlake a 10-0 halftime lead.

Ventura, the defending Channel League champion, is 2-1.